Eylea outperforms other drugs for diabetic macular edema with moderate or worse vision loss

From:http://www.nih.gov/news/health/feb2015/nei-19.htm

Eylea outperforms other drugs for diabetic macular edema with moderate or worse vision loss

Lucentis and Avastin perform similarly to Eylea when vision loss is mild, NIH study shows

In an NIH-supported clinical trial comparing three drugs for diabetic macular edema (DME), Eylea (aflibercept) provided greater visual improvement, on average, than did Avastin (bevacizumab) or Lucentis (ranibizumab) when vision was 20/50 or worse at the start of the trial. However, the three drugs resulted in similar average improvement when starting vision was 20/40 to 20/32. Investigators found no major differences in the safety of the three drugs. The trial was funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

This comparative effectiveness study will help doctors and patients make informed decisions when choosing treatments for diabetic macular edema, said NEI Director Paul A. Sieving, M.D., Ph.D. The trial was conducted by the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network (DRCR.net), which is funded by NEI. The results were published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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